A Story of the Forest: Mavka (1980)
Mavka, a water nymph, loves Lukash, a country youth. Their brief happiness ends when Lukash is forced to marry the shrewish Kilina. The spirit of the forest turns Lukash into a wolf as punishment for his infidelity. The strength of Mavka's love breaks the spell, but Kilina curses the nymph, transforming her into a weeping willow. This beautiful and tragic story is based on a play written in 1912 by Lesya Ukrainka, a Ukrainian poet, writer and political, civil and female activist, and includes mythological characters taken from Ukrainian folklore.
- Released
- 1980-07-23
- Genres
- Drama, Fantasy, Romance
- Runtime
- 83 min
- Status
- Released
- Directed / written by
- Yurii Illienko, Yurii Illienko
- TMDB rating
- 5.9/10 from 18 votes
Cast
- Lyudmila Efimenko as Mavka
- Viktor Kremlev as Lukash
- Maya Bulgakova as Lukash’s Mother
- Ivan Mykolaichuk as Uncle Leo / Wood Goblin
- Boris Khmelnitsky as Red (forest) Demon
- Viktor Demertash as Koots
- Liudmyla Lobza as Kylyna
- Nina Shatskaya as Water Sprite
- Svetlana Sergeyeva as Meadow Fairy
- Ivan Khodulin as Kylyna’s child
- Pylyp Illienko as Kylyna’s child
- Vladimir Fyodorov as Hunger Imps
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